Caching in Aberdeen, NC 3/8/2008

We left this morning for Aberdeen, NC about 15 miles north of us to do some caching as it was a lovely warm day. Our first cache was located in an old cemetery near the center of town. It was a shame to see that it was run down and needed some TLC. The next 3 caches were located in probably the oldest cemetery in Aberdeen, North Carolina, Old Bethesda Cemetery also the site of Bethesda Presbyterian Church which is a fairly nondescript church in appearance. Built on land from a King's grant this Circa-1790 church features an Old Slave Gallery, and graves of area pioneer settlers. It is listed in the National Register. Despite its plain looks, it is the final resting place of many of Aberdeen's most important people, and was even the site of a civil war skirmish, which left bullet holes in one of the church walls. Union troops commandeered the Bethesda Presbyterian Church and the Malcolm Blue Farm nearby in March 1865. Today an exhibit details the Battle of Monroe’s Cross Roads at the Malcolm Blue Farm. Sometime in the late 1700's, early Scottish settlers in the area began to gather for worship. They met in each others homes, or sometimes under a "brush arbor". They were the beginning of the church known as Bethesda Presbyterian Church. Bethesda means "House of Loving Kindness", or "House of Mercy". Three Presbyterian churches were formed on the same day, with the same minister. The preacher rode the circuit, preaching one Sunday a month at each new church. One of these preaching points was Bethesda. It was then known as the "Church at the Head of Rockfish Creek". Around 1788 the church built its first church building: a small log structure that was about 100 feet away from the current "old" Bethesda building. For more than 40 years, it was not only the center of religious life in the community of Blue's Crossing, it was the center of all activity in the area. By 1832, Bethesda Presbyterian Church, as it was now known, had grown so much that a new building was needed. A larger, more fitting house of worship was built right on the spot where the present building stands. Within another 30 years it was obvious that Bethesda was still growing, and would need a still larger building. The old building was taken down, piece by piece, to be used again in a new and larger structure that is now "Old Bethesda". The next and fourth cache in the cemetery was a short walk to the site of original sanctuary of the Bethesda Presbyterian Church. Right next to the site of the original sancturary is a slab of marble. Written on it is: Son of James Ray and Flora McInnis Ray Born 1764 and Died 1780. He was the victim of the lawlessness of the Revolutionary period. On their way home from trading in Campbeltown,(later known as Fayetteville), He and his brother were robbed at gunpoint by Tory Marauders. His older brother escaped, but he was shot near Ray's Mill, and buried here at night. Once we found the cache we found the slab of marble and took some pictures of the grave sites and the slab and we were off to the next cache.
Next cache was in the woods in the parking lot of the Malcolm Blue Farm. The Malcolm McMillan Blue home was built over 170 years ago when the Sandhills was known as "The Pine Barrens" because it consisted of sandy hills covered with giant virgin pines, barren of undergrowth, and of settlers struggling to carve a home in the wilderness. It is one of the few remaining examples of 19th century Scottish homes which dotted the area. The 1825 farmhouse along with the grist mill, stable, corn crib, tobacco barn, water tower and windmill complete the farmstead. Malcolm was married in 1833 to Isabella Patterson whose grandfather received a King's grant for land in what is now Aberdeen in 1768. She died within a year and he later married Flora Ray. They raised seven children on the farmstead. Malcolm Blue became very prosperous in the Naval Stores industry. He owned more than 8,000 acres including the present day Pinehurst Race Track and the western boundary of Fort Bragg. He tapped the pine trees for rosin which was refined into tar, pitch and turpentine. He also was active in the community and served as an Elder in the Bethesda Church for 40 years and Clerk of Sessions for 16 years, donating the land where the current "old" church now stands. The area surrounding Old Bethesda Church and the Malcolm Blue house became known as Blue's Crossing. On March 9, 1865 elements of the 1st Brigade of General Sherman’s Army, commanded by General Thomas J. Jordan, commandeered the house and Bethesda Church for a bivouac on their advance to Fayetteville. Fortunately, both were spared the destruction that befell many homes along Sherman’s route.
Next cache was located at the site of a lovely church set in back of a small lake along the road. Again a lot of history, not particularly of this church but the town of Aberdeen itself. The name of the cache was "For Whom Doth The Bell Toll" and this is the story for who. Located in southern Moore County, Aberdeen is named for the seaport of the same name in Scotland. Although the picturesque town was not incorperated until 1893, it was settled more than a century earlier, primarily by people of Scottish descent. Evidence of their early presence can be found at Old Bethesda Presbyterian Church and Cemetary on the outskirts of town. After Old Bethesda was organized in 1790, the congragation propmptly went to work and completed a sanctuary the same year. The existing white frame edifice, surmounted by a tower and spire, was erected in 1850. Of particular interest is the old church bell, which pealed a ghostly toll during the summer of 1863. That mysterious occurrence was the denouement of a beautiful love story set during the Civil War. Like many of the residents of Aberdeen in the mid-nineteenth century, Leona Burns and Johnny Blue were Presbyterians who firmly beleived in the doctrine of predestination. And if there were ever a young man and young woman destined to be together, it had to be Johnny and Leona. Born just a year apart, the two had been almost constant companions since childhood. As they grew into teenagers, their infatuation with each other - their puppy love - grew into a serious romance. On a beautiful, warm afternoon in the early spring of 1861, Johnny, then seventeen, sat close to sixteen year old Leona on the plush, green grass in the shadow of the spire of Old Bethesda. There, Johnny pledged his eternal love to Leona before he broke the doleful news to her. He was going away. Most of the states of the South had already banded together as a nation to fight the United States. It was only a matter of time until North Carolina joined the Confederacy. Every able-bodied male who could shoulder a weapon was needed to go to the aid of North Carolina's Southern neighbors. Johnny was ready to take his place in the ranks of North Carolinians rallying to the cause. Although Leona was proud of Johnny's willingness to do his duty, she could not mask her sadness and concern. She asked him to promise that he would come back home to her. In a soothing, reassuring voice, Johnny did so. But suddenly, his face took on a somber, melancholy look. As he nodded towards the bell tower, he made a statement filled with ominous overtones: "If anything ever happens to me so as I can't come home, maybe this old bell will ring to let you know I love you true and couldn't help it." After a tender embrace, the time for parting was at hand. During the first two years, the war was for the most part fought in places far away from Moore County. Like most of the soldiers North Carolina provided for the confederacy, Johnny was sent to the battlegrounds of Virginia and points north. As the war grew in intensity and scope, so did the human losses. Almost daily, lists of killed and missing local boys were posted in Aberdeen. Leona was always there to anxiously scan the list to make sure Johnny's name did not appear. She rarely heard from him by mail. It was not that he no longer cared. Rather, Johnny was not an accomplished writer. On the rare occasion when local soldiers came home on wounded furlough, they would deliver to Leona worn notes written by Johnny and stained with the sweat and grime of wartime campsites. As twilight descended on a warm summer afternoon in 1863 in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, Leona was taking the butter she had just churned to the springhouse when she heard the sorrowful sound. The bell at Old Bethesda was sounding a slow but loud knell. Leona forgot what she was about and dashed towards the church. With each step she took, the ringing grew louder, clearer. She found it strange because it wasn't Sunday. By the time Leona reached the church graveyard, she could see that two men were standing in a state of bewilderment outside the church. All they could tell her was that the building was locked tight. Perhaps a child had snuck inside and was pulling the rope to the bell. There seemed to be no end to the ringing. One of the men finally pulled himself up the side of the building, unlocked a window and made his way inside. When he emerged from the church, his face was as pale as his shirt. In a quivering voice, he stammered, "There's nobody in there. That bell is ringing by itself with the rope going up and down with each pull." His words penetrated Leona's heart like a dagger. There was no question about it now - the tolling bell was a message from her dear Johnny that he would not be able to make it back home. He had kept the promise he had made on that fateful spring afternoon. Crushed by the revelation of the clanging bell, she rushed home, where her aunt consoled the weeping, brokenhearted teenager. Over the next few days, the grief-stricken girl refused to leave her bed and did not eat or drink. Then a new caualty list was posted, and on it appeared the name of Johnny Blue. He had been killed in action in early July on the rocky Pennsylvania landscape at a place called Gettysburg. Leona received the grim news quietly. To her, it was not news at all. The next day, she died in her sleep. Family and friends buried her in the cemetary at Old Bethesda and planted a yellow rosebush atop her grave. As for Johnny Blue, he was interred with his fallen Confederate comrades on that faraway battleground. Since that sad summer day in 1863 in Aberdeen, the bell at Old Bethesda has rung on many occasions, but only when it was pulled by human hands. Some say that its supernatural tolling during the Civil War was a death knell. But if you're a romantic at heart, you will understand that the ghostly ringing was a grand celebration of a special, meant-to-be kind of love that could never die.
Next cache was one modeled after a cache in Myrtle Beach. It was in a walkway that goes under a main road so the school children don't have to cross the busy main road. It was attached to the ceiling with magnets.
Next was a guardrail cache close to a great place to eat. It was called Dog Nation Grill and we had lunch there. It was a "hole in the wall" as you can see by the pictures but the food was out of this world. Nothing more than burgers, hot dogs and fries but boy were they good. We could sit outside, as they had no inside seating, and we ate at a table along a small creek. The inside was just big enough for the kitchen and some waitress area along with a batroom that you had to pull your tummy in to get into. Boy it was great though. Big burgers with huge orders of fries.
Next 2 caches were in small local parks in pine trees. Next cache was at the American Legion and the final 2 caches were in a, what we would guess to be a started but never to be finished housing subdivision. That was it for the day and we must say quite a bit better than Saturday's caching. We stopped and got a newspaper and off back to the coach for dinner and an early turn in for both of us. Well until next time we love you all and do miss you no matter what you think. Mom & Dad


Picture List:1-Malcolm Blue House Circa 1825, 2,3,4,5,6-Front, side and front porch of the house along with the deacon's bench, 7-Clayton-Blair Museum next door to the Blue House, 8,9,10,11,12,13,14-Barns, water storage tank and buildings on the farm, 15,16-Double trunk mulberry tree 160 years old, 17-Well, 18-Piece of fram machinery, 19-Inside of outhouse, 20-Somebody's peeking, 21-Outhouse, 22-Bethesda Presbyterian Church Circa 1788, 23,24,25-Front and 2 sides of church, 26-National Register of Historic Places marker, 27-Site of first sanctuary of the church, 28-Son of James & Flora Ray marker (see above), 29-Wooden grave markers, 30-Archibald Ray born 1770 Isle of Jura, Scotland, 31-Elizabeth McSween born 1768 Isle of Skye, Scotland, 32,33,34,35,36,37-Some of the older markers in the cemetery, 38-Church where we found the cache that the above story about "For Whom Doth The Bell Toll", 39-Downtoen Aberdeen, 40,41,42,43-Dog Nation Grill, 44,45-Postmaster's House Circa 1880 the oldest downtown structure, 46,47,48,49-Union Station Circa 1905, 50-Aberdeen Historic District marker, 51,52,53-Aberdeen & Rockfish RR caboose and buildings.